Agenda item

The Chief Executive and Executive Director Core Services will submit a joint report supporting the updated Action Plan relating to the issues identified following the Annual Governance Review for 2018/19.

The Chief Executive and Executive Director Core Services submitted a joint report supporting the updated Action plan relating to the issues identified following the Annual Governance Review for 2018/19.

The Head of Internal Audit, Anti-Fraud and Assurance, who presented the report, introduced Ms Alison Salt who was to join the Authority shortly as the newly appointed Corporate Governance and Assurance Manager.  Members of the Committee were briefly informed of the key roles of this and arising out of this particularly reference was made to her future involvement with a planned examination of the Annual Governance Review process which would ensure that all governance and assurance issues continued to be properly identified and actioned.

He then reported that the Action Plan covered two areas the progress on which was outlined in detail within the appendix to the report:

·         The monitoring of the implementation of management actions identified by the Data Protection Officer to further improve compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations and embed good general data protection practice

·         The delivery of the improvement action noted within the 2019 Peer Review findings specifically to address recommendations relating to governance and risk

In the ensuing discussion particular reference was made to the following:

·         The reasons for and the rationale behind the need have an inventory of CCTV in use within the Authority and appoint a responsible officer CCTV.  This had been triggered following the receipt of a letter from the Surveillance Camera Commissioner. 

o   The Head of Internal Audit, Anti-Fraud and Assurance had assumed the ‘responsible’ officer role.

o   Work was progressing on the inventory (which included body cams as well as CCTV) and was now substantially complete.  Work was also progressing in this respect with schools for which the authority held responsibility

o   The process had also identified the need to introduce a common procurement approach in order to reduce costs but also to standardise the use of equipment. 

o   The consequences of not complying with the Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s requests were outlined

o   In response to questioning, the Executive Director Core Services briefly outlined the role of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner in ensuring compliance with the surveillance camera code of practice

·         Reference was made to the assurance review in relation to Cyber Security – issues had been raised in relation to monitoring and assurance but no significant concerns had been identified.  It was hoped that an update could be provided for the January meeting

RESOLVED that the progress being made against each item listed in the Annual Governance Statement Action Plan be noted.